By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
The third batch of ALPS-treated water discharged by the Tokyo Electric Power Company into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant had a tritium concentration level far below Japan's operational limit, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
According to a press statement from the nuclear watchdog, experts stationed at the IAEA Fukushima NPS Office sampled the diluted water on Oct. 30 prior to its release.
Japan plans to dump 1.33 million tons of ALPS-treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station over the next 30 years, sparking anxiety in the region. TEPCO began the process on Aug. 24 amid protests from neighboring nations.
The IAEA said both previous batches released on Aug. 24 and Oct. 5 also contained tritium concentrations far below operational limits of 1,500 becquerels per liter.
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The Fukushima nuclear power plant was crippled by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake that jolted Japan on March 11, 2011, killing nearly 20,000 people and injuring thousands.
The long-term discharge of the radioactive water into the sea is part of the decommissioning of the power plant.
The IAEA Task Force conducting the ongoing safety review of the water discharge said that the release was progressing as planned and without any technical concerns.
TEPCO maintains that it will “devote all of its resources to ensuring the safety and quality of facility operation, speedily obtaining monitoring results and disseminating that information in an accurate and easy-to-understand manner.”
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